To have Kept the Fire
by redcake11
Summary: The Fire Keeper takes on a different form after having helped betray the Fire Dark Souls 3/Harry Potter crossover, AU, FireKeeper as fem!Harry
1. Chapter 1The Prologue

To have kept the Fire

Chapter 1: Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

I don't know how far this story will go so it'll be abit cracky

In the beginning there was Fog and Everlasting Dragons, but then there was Fire and with the lighting of it this cycle began, unending, or so we had thought. Now this Age of Fire is ending and only Embers, Cinders and Ashes remain, The undead are slowly running out, so many of them not even fit to be kindle to the Flame, only their ashes remain an slowly form an Ashen One.

Ah yes, the Ashen One, what a strange fellow that is, with skin as purple as could be, a giant head with a skeleton-thin body. According to others he wears a frilly dress,a very hairy headpiece of some sort and uses a giant dragon's tooth as a weapon, nobody wanted to know where he got them from.

He has done it, as was expected of him, he brought all the Lords of Cinder back to their thrones and is ready to link the fire or maybe he will go through with the betrayal of Fire. He was kind enough to even give her eyes….Used eyes at that, best not think about it.

Eyes to see what she was not meaneth to see, it is faintly unsettling and comforting at the same time, all this Dark and betrayal, maybe it was meant to be so.

Now that the way to the Kiln is open after performing the surrending of Cinders ceremony, it is up to the Ashen One to decide what to do with the fading Fire. Hopefully he can defeat the last adversary guarding the Flame without too much difficulty.  
Now it was time for her to tend tot he flames of her bonfire, for the end of this cycle and possibly every cycle is nearing it's approach.

* * *

As I feel myself being summoned I immediatedly know what has transpired, The Ashen One has defeated the last adversary and has made a choice, let us hope he made the right one.

The place myself got summoned to has a certain feel to it, an ancient feel and nearby there is a crackle of an ancient bonfire on it's last embers, The Ashen One is not hard to miss, not with the large size of his Soul, he certainly has enough for enhancement of the body but that is neither here nor now.

It is clear what he requireth of me and what I have to do, I kneel down to ancient bonfire and gently and slowly pull out the Fire, out of the world through the bonfire itself. She cannot see it but as she does so the world Darkens.

Only the Flame in her hands and tiny flickering embers at the edge of her senses remain in this world.  
She says to herself and maybe the Ashen One nearby "The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle. But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lords past."

The Ashen One does not reply to this but he felt a bit frozen to her senses, as if only able to watch the events happening infront of him. Until suddenly he comes into action and does something she did not expect to happen at all.

The Ashen One strikes her down into the ashen ground and pushes her into it,Slowly killing her. He takes the Flame for himself, as a prize of sorts for him. As she is fading out in the familiar feel of death she thinks to herself that this is truly not that unexpected of him. Ash Seeketh Embers after all. This certainly isn't the first time she has died, but she always came back due to the world needing a Fire Keeper. Most of these times she died has been from the Ashen One trying out a new weapon he had obtained, or just releasing pent up anger on her. She did not hold any bad feelings against the Ashen One for this, they both knew she would come back as long as the world needed her.

However, The Fire was pulled out of the world and a world without Fire had no need for a Fire Keeper. If the Ashen One had known she wouldn't come back to life as he was used to he probably wouldn't have done it, or maybe he still would have, for us he is the Usurper of Fire, in any other world he would most likely be a homicidal serial killer but that is neither there nor now.

As she is fading she feels a faint tug on her Fire Keeper Soul and decides to follow it as best as she can. With no Fire and Fire Keeper to sustain it, all of the bonfires activated in Lothric are being burnt out, never to be used again.

Who knows if this will be the last time she will die and hopes she can go to that afterlive place some undead talked about who knows how long ago.

* * *

In another time and World altogether a war was going on, not just any kind of war but a semi-secret war between a special minority of the population of Brittain, what was so special about these people was that they were all magic users of some way. Semi-secret because people know that it is happening but most of the population does not want to do anything to do with it.

On the Light side of the war effort was a group called the Group of the Flaming Chicken, also called the Order of the Phoenix by some people, strange people that. The Group of the Flaming Chicken were led by an aged man past his prime called Albus Dumbledore, the man with too many middle names and owner of various political positions, but most people only care and remember about his position as current Headmaster of Hogwarts, a pretty backwards school of magic.

However, on the other side of the war effort, the Dark Side if you will, was led by a man also nearing the end of his prime who is called Lord Voldemort by the masses in private, they are most likely to call him 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' or the shorter version 'That-One-Guy' his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle but at most only three to four people know of him like this. When Tom Riddle graduated from Hogwarts he decided to pick up the title of Lord Gaunt, the Noble family he is from and butchered to get the position. Fun times.

Voldemort called his followers Death Eaters, why? nobody really knows but when the guy who has a killing curse on speedcast you don't complain about it.

This War is currently on abit of a stalemate, with Voldemort using some guerilla warfare tactics and spamming the killing curse like it's going out of style and Dumbledore just having alot of people to send in hordes to fight the death eaters.

However during a job interview for the divination position at Hogwarts, which he was holding at an Inn and pub called the Hog's Head, conveniently owned by his brother Aberforth,How convenient and close. The previous professor having quit due to having foreseen that soon the pay for it will get cut drasticly, understandable really all things considered. And with most people being frauds looking for some easy money it is difficult to find halfway decent personel for the position.

Just as Dumbledore was about the reject the current applicant looking for the job, something strange happend to the person, one Sybill Trelawny, a descended of a Legendary Seer which is about the only reason he gave her the chance for the job to begin with, froze up and got a dark look in her eyes and when she spoke it was like multiple voices were speaking at the same time.

Naturally when this started Dumbledore was trying to remember what kind of stuff he put in his drink this time and decided to blame his brother for this, he was holding the job interviews in his inn after all.

Sybill Trelawny, No, The Seer spoke a new prophecy for the surroundings and the world to hear

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...  
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...  
and the Dark Lord will mark the one as his equal, but the one will have power the Dark Lord knows not...  
and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._"

After finishing speaking the Prophecy, The Seer left Sybill and as a side effect made her crash face first into the table.

Dumbledore was keeping a straight face but internally was worrying about the prophecy he just heard, he didn't notice a faint bump of someone falling off a chair in the next room over. On another note, he will accept Miss Trelawny as the new Hogwarts Divination position. After telling Miss Trelawny she had gotten the job and making her go away, Dumbledore felt conflicted about the prophecy and started thinking about the implications of the prophecy and the possible damnation of the Chosen One.

However that was neither here nor now so he decided to go back to his office and finish his paperwork while eating some of those new lemon drops he found while browsing a candy store, he had gotten some strange looks and mutters of a, what did they call it, a 'peadophial'? Well whatever that was he did not let some words let him down.

* * *

Meanwhile one Severus Snape was the cause of the faint sound of someone falling of his chair, the reason being he had reason to believe one of the witches across the room was coming onto him, this innuendo filled staring and body language contest was however interrupted by her boyfriend noticing him and coming to beat him up for the actions he was doing.

As he was being knocked off his chair, the wizard giving up on further beating him now that he was satisfied with giving him a black eye, he heard the strange voice of multiple people speaking like one, he had heard this before, this was either a skilled acapella performance or a seer proclaiming a prophecy, as this was a decently low tier bar he ruled out the acapella performance and decided it must be a seer, so he listened attentively to it, not wanting to miss a word.

Now, Severus Snape was not a very good man, he was a death eater after all, He had recently gotten his Potion's Mastery so he was a very useful person to have in service. He was fully intending to confer this prophecy to his Lord like a puppy bringing the newspaper. While he was knocked off the chair he accidently knocked over a table and the owner was coming to him, Snape knew that if he didn't get away he would have to pay for the drinks that were on the table he knocked over. Potions Master of the Dark Lord he may be, but no one ever said that was a well paying position.  
He decided to go to his Lord to tell him the Prophecy. Little did he know he did not get to hear the whole propechy.

* * *

Meanwhile the Potter family was currently enduring a mood change from Lily whom is pregnant, little to know that the baby she is carrying was to be a possible savior of the British Wizarding World.

* * *

Dark Lord Voldemort, also known as Big Tom or The Snake to his most trusted followers and friends had heard about the prophecy concerning him and his equal-to-be, He knew that a prophecy can be interpreted in multiple ways, he hoped it was not meant his equal in a marriage kind of way, he was over 60 after all, and this was supposed to be a newborn.

He had found two families who will fit the prophecy, the Longbottoms and the Potters, both of the families have thrice defied him and lived to tell about it. From Frank and Alice Longbottom actively fighting against him to James Potter unknowingly cutting in line infront of him while he was under various heavy glamour spells.

He had already made some plans to visit these families and most likely burn their houses down but for now he had better things to do, like thwarting Dumbledore.

* * *

As it was nearing August, There was a gruesome battle involving a foul beast that, with a rough translation was called "The Seventh Month", after months of harrasment to the local populence of some far away african country, but the one who felled the beast was a strange wizard, looking to become a Monster Hunter Extraordinair looking for adventures to write some books about. As the wizard in question got abit carried away with the celebrations that he did some regretfull stuff, so he vowed to never talk about it to anyone, lest it ruin his reputation.

Oh yeah and the Potters and Longbottoms have both gotten a new addition to the family just one day from eachother, strange coincidence that, One Neville Longbottom and One Dorea Potter, Both fit for the prophecy and both fit for sad lives if nothing changes to the future.

After being in a very comfortable and warm place for quite some time, She was bad with this concept of time, in Lothric and previous lands and cycles time was always convoluted and sort of broken, Everything changed very quickly, it suddenly got cold and she cried out in shock. She did not hear nor understand one James Potter fainting from witnessing the 'miracle' of childbirth and one Lily Potter crushing his hand with tears of joy. They gave her a different name and became her parents, something she doesn't remember having, she decided to enjoy this for as long as possible, Fire or not.

Naturally Big Tom attacked a year later and she was parentless once again.

* * *

Hope if anyone actually reading this stuff enjoyed it :^


	2. Chapter 2

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, what did you honestly expect.

* * *

The Dark Lord was vanquished, For now atleast, Dumbledore is almost certain he will comeback, Lord Voldemort liked boasting about his so called immortality after all. But for now he had more important things to do, like calm the populance so that they won't party too hard. Last he heard someone managed to smuggle multiple goats to a party, the details were still unclear to him.

He was coming up to the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow, the place was a wreck, it looked like the place got hit by a boulder, got the boulder removed and set on fire for a couple of minutes. The building was still standing naturally, It will take alot more than that for a wizard's house to be destroyed.

He already came here last night shortly after the attack happend and told Rubeus Hagrid, whom most people called Hagrid to bring little Dorea to her relatives in Surrey with the flying motorcycle that he's lending from Sirius Black whom shortly after was, last he heard arrested for killing around 12 muggles with one spell, Little was he to know Sirius was going to be waiting for some time in wizarding prison Azkaban. Azkaban is a fun place in the North Sea, it has great weather, pleasant company and soul sucking demons. A place fit for all family.

As he went to the nursery room, He was here to try to get a clearer vision of what had happened last night. The magical residue was too cluttered and chaotic yesterday and skilled wizard he might be he was no magical detective. The air filled with magic was filled with the Dark he associated with the Killing Curse and some strange form of fire magic, is that some sort of protection Lily had made? Or maybe the 'power he knows not', he didn't know for sure. He couldn't get anything more out it and figured it to be a mystery for later and maybe forever.

With the Dark Lord gone his followers might want to get revenge for it and with the chosen one, the girl-who-lived, sent away to live with her relatives he needed to protect them, his main protection he put up was in the form of blood wards, made Illegal by the ministry more than a decade ago after some Noble flubbed them up and brought ruin to his family, they made it so that no wizard with hostile intent against the family in the house can find their location.

Now it was time for him to join in the festivities. The party was still going on, he could tell by the random fireworks going off in strange colours and patterns. Little did Dumbledore know he joined in on the party which ended with him waking up on a tropical island next to a centaur, a goat and multiple wizards, witches and even some goblins surrounded by drinks and what looks to be piles of cocaine.

* * *

Severus Snape was currently a grieving man. The only true friend he had ever had is dead and everybody else is celebrating the day. It had felt like a piece of him had died with Lily that night.  
He needed to get away from this, and an oppertunity to do so was being provided in the form that Dumbledore had asked him to be the next Potions Professor at Hogwarts, he may not like teaching children and dunderheads but everything would be better than what he was expierencing right now.

* * *

The Dursleys were a family living in a normal house in a normal neighbourhood in a normal town. Most people would call them horribly bland but they were happy living like this. There was Vernon Dursley, a chubby man in his prime with a mustache which does wonders for his face and is well cared for but makes him look like a walrus in some strange peoples opinion, His wife Petunia Dursley previously Evans, a woman with a longer than average neck, which apparently is considered attractive for people but that is neither here nor now, she was sometimes compared to looking like a horse. There was also their son, Dudley Dursley who was only barely older than a year and hence very uninteresting.

They were not a normal family however, for you see Mrs. Dursley had a secret, her sister was a witch! According to some people this means you must be burned at a stake however it was not that kind of witch but a witch as in a magic user. Petunia did not have the ability to use magic nor does her husband Vernon. Their family were apparently also descendants of eccentric demon hunters or something like that, Petunia didn't really pay attention to what her parents were talking about.

Petunia and her sister Lily were not particulary close but they were still family, they had sent each other baby pictures of their newborn. On their husband's first meeting there was a misunderstanding which had left a bad taste in her mouth, wizarding tea biscuits apparently does that to muggles, who knew? Also their husband had a bit of a squabble there but that was easily rectified and apologies were said.

Her husband Vernon has a succesful job as director in a drill company called Grunnings, he had black hair and had a bit of a chub going for him and barely any neck to speak of, maybe this is why he fell in love with Petunia, because he had barely any neck and she had enough neck.

Petunia was getting ready to go to bed, having already put Dudley to sleep in his crib. She was startled by a booming knock on the door and was happy that Dudley didn't wake up from the noise while wondering who even visits someone after 10 pm. Petunia said to her husband Vernon "Vernon! There's somebody at the door, can you go get it?" Vernon grunted an affirmative and walked to the door with his metal bat in hand, can never be too careful when there's somebody knocking at your door late at night.

Vernon opened the door cautiously to the faint sound of a motorcycle driving off in the distance, there was nobody at the door. He looked down and saw something strange, somebody had put a baby in a basket on his front steps and had the balls to put an admittably very nice gifts baskets next to it, was that some belgium chocolate he saw?. He looked to the left and right multiple times and saw that nobody was on the street and he quickly brought the two baskets inside, to the shock of his wife, who could have expected to get a 100 pounds worth gifts basket out of nowhere after all, and there was also a baby, can't forget that.

The baby in the basket was thankfully sleeping and not wailing loudly, that would be very annoying after all. There was a letter on the basket, almost impossible to miss, not in that bright yellow paper.  
Vernon looked at the letter, held it out to Petunia and he whispered "Petunia, it's addressed to you!"  
Petunia took the letter and curiously opened and it and read the note inside with bewilderment,it read

* * *

"Dear Mrs. Dursley,  
I do not know if you had heard of it but in your sister's world there was a war going on, and on this very day the war ended but not without it's costs, the costs being your sister and her husband, leaving behind their daughter which is indeed the baby in the basket. The wizarding populance have proclaimed her to be a hero, for she is the one who has vanquished the Dark Lord according to them. Normally she would go to her godparents but with her godfather Sirius Black being in jail and her godmother Alice Longbottom having been tortured into a form like a coma, it was decided that she best went to you. If you are willing to take her into your family, the family will be protected against any wizarding threats."  
"I hope this letter reaches you with understanding.

My condolences,  
Albus Percival Stacy Wulfric Brian Julian Steven Big D Carl Bob John Dumbledore"

* * *

Petunia was horrified to know that her sister and her sister's husband were murdered and it was conveyed to her in the form of a message on a birthday card out of all things, like this Dumbledore person went into a store and used the first card he could find. Petunia didn't know how to take all this so she said to her husband in a worried tone "Vernon, what are we supposed to do! This is all that remains of my sister, this is her daughter Dorea, the letter is telling us that we're the only family she has left"

Vernon was stumped, He didn't mind taking in his niece, there were no problems there, the problem lay in that he doesn't know for sure what a child of magical people require and if he can still support his family with his job. Vernon said to Petunia "Petunia, there's no trouble with taking in our niece, Dorea, you said? We have a spare room and all, I am worried about with her being a magical child what if there's something she needs that our Dudley doesn't? What do we do then?"

Petunia was relieved that Vernon was okay with taking in her niece, family is family after all, no matter if you had magic or not. And she thought about what to do, she said "We can try to make contact with their government and ask for help, We should probably take her to a doctor as soon as we get the legalities settled" Petunia sniffled for a bit, keeping tears back "We also need to arrange a f-funeral"

Petunia decided to get a better look at her niece, swiping back her niece's blond hair she notices a still red scar, with a faint lightning-ish shape, it's abit hard to make out in this lighting. The fact that a baby has a scar like that is abit concerning. But other than that she felt abit warmer than you'd expect to the touch.

Petunia was getting real tired so she put her niece with Dudley in the crib, babies usually don't mind that right? And went to bed, tomorrow's problems were for the Petunia of tomorrow

* * *

In the forest in the middle of nowhere, also known as Albania a remnant of a recently deceased wizard was roaming around, unable to pass on to the 'next adventure' or death as some called it.  
For you see this remnant was known as Lord Voldemort and he had the bright idea to split up his soul multiple times, and look where that got him, Immortal in a sense but reduced to a weak spectre when he died.

He had no idea what had happend, one moment he was casting the killing curse on a baby and the next he felt like he was Atlas, holding up the sky, the only thing different was that both he and the sky were on fire, after what felt like an eternity of burning he appeared as this spectre.  
Greater men than he had tried to touch the Fire after all.

* * *

Dorea the Fire Keeper was sad, or atleast what she thought was sadness, she was abit new to these feelings. She had gotten parents and family members in the form of James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Alice and Peter. But then something had gone wrong, Or maybe Fire Keepers were simply not meant to have a family. A creature masquerading as a man came along one day and killed them.  
And with them not being undead and more importantly, no Bonfire, they won't come back.

He tried to kill her too. The Fire did not like that and consumed him instead. Of course without a bonfire to link to it did not last long for him.

This however tired her out alot, she is still a baby after all so she went to sleep it off.


	3. Chapter 3

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything maybe not even this fanfic, that's a joke by the way, you'd be pretty pathetic to steal this fanfic.

* * *

She woke up in a comfortable crib with something, nay, someone else also in it. She still felt abit hot as if she was standing close to a fire for some time, must have been her body unable to properly handle the Fire. The Fire was linked with her Soul and usable but with her body still in infancy it is understandable that it is currently a bad medium. Wouldn't want the burns her previous self had gotten after all.

Using her senses for a peek at the nearby inhabitants she discovered there were a total of 2 other people, Adults by the feel of their Souls. One of them felt familiar in a strange way, she was sure she hadn't met somebody like that before, Something to figure out later.

Dorea had to go potty as they called it, Mother wasn't very happy when she had accidently soiled herself, so she did what she thought was the best thing. So she was crying for attention, which did bring the person into the room looking worried and made the other person in the crib also wake up and cry out as well. So the other person in the crib was another baby she figured.

The person who had walked in was Petunia Dursley, she had been starting on making breakfast for Vernon and the kids. Dorea stood up and held her arms out in the universal sign for pick me up or alternatively give me a hug and tried saying "Potty!" but instead came out as "woti" luckily for her Petunia was well versed in baby-speech, truly an amazing skill to have, and helped her do her thing.

Without the impending threat of soiled pants she was content to just hug anyone. Right now that was Dudley who was enjoying her warm body heat, Guess having a literal Fire inside you had some perks after all, who'd have guessed.

As she was almost falling asleep again as she still was tired from using the Fire, she knew it won't be as tiring next time, little by little at least, Dorea heard the person call out and say to her "Dorea-dear, I'm your aunt Petunia, this is your uncle Vernon and that's your cousin Dudley, You're going to be staying with us for some time."

Dorea knew her parents were dead and weren't likely to comeback so she understood what her apparently aunt was saying to her. Still she was sad and required more hugs so she held out her arms and babbled "Aun'ie Aun'ie!" Dorea couldn't see this but this made her aunt Petunia have a strange look on her face, partly because she didn't expect her niece to ask for her already and partly because Dorea was facing in the completely wrong direction than she was standing it.

Petunia didn't see this last night due to bad lighting and Dorea being asleep but now that she awake and in the light, so to say, her niece was what you'd call a cute baby, with a soft face, light blonde hair and her sister's emerald green, alternatively called killing curse green by the wizarding folks which is a bit sad that for an apparently forbidden magic everybody sure knew what it looked like. There was something off about her eyes though, they were a bit cloudy and if this wasn't a trick of light, glowing a little.

Lily's eyes had glowed a bit as well now that she thought about so maybe it's just a trait. Petunia was happy for another family member with blonde hair but it was a bit strange since she knew Lily had a fiery red hair color and that James Potter had jet-black, she and her father had blonde hair color however so maybe their color skipped a generation, it happened occasionally after all so she decided to not worry about it too much.

Petunia however was a little worried about her niece's cloudy eyes, she hoped it was just from sleepiness but decided to try something out, while holding Dorea, she turned a bit sideways and decided to waggle and wave her hand in a manner which always held Dudley's attention.  
Dorea was not interested in her hand as far as she could see, maybe she's just not interested Petunia thought to herself. Breakfast was starting soon so she had to hurry up now, She had to make breakfast for Vernon after all, he had work today. She set Dorea down with Dudley in a play corner they had prepared for him a couple weeks ago when he showed interest in building blocks, hence there were a lot of blocks in there, they had no way of getting out and making a mess of her pristine floor thanks to a handy baby fence.

* * *

As Vernon and Petunia were listening to the morning news on the telly while eating their breakfast there was some strange news on it.

" _There have been multiple reports of break ins, arsons and animal thefts, one distraught local farmer woke up in the morning and discovered he had a full pen of goats missing, Police reports are still coming in. The regional fire department was thankfully at the site of the arsons fast enough and the fire wasn't able to burn down a building."_

" _Further news, The Police had gotten an overwhelming amount of complaints about random fireworks going off all over the country, the reason is still unknown as to why this event happened and they are doing their best to find it out."_

" _In other news there were sightings of multiple groups of the elderly having the time of their lives and seemed to be participating in multiple drugs such as noted Cocaine, Cannabis and something onlookers at identified as a high alcohol content Whiskey, where these groups of elderly had gotten the produce from nobody is quite sure. This has however led some people to believe there have been multiple drug rings in the regional area, the police have started a further investigation. More at Eleven"_

" _Now onto the weather—"_

Vernon asked Petunia "This news, is this all caused by the wizards celebrating? Over, you know" he nudged in the direction of his niece Dorea and thought to himself that the wizards sure knew how to have a strange but sick party.

Petunia nodded while in thought and said "Yes this is probably caused by the wizards, their war is over now after all" Vernon nodded in reply and continued his breakfast and coffee, his wife truly was a great cook, this, he admitted to himself is the reason he was getting a bit of a chub, her food was too tasty, a problem most people would most likely berate him for. Maybe he should work out a little, he heard some of his boys started going to the gym recently and he saw the results for himself.

Time was flying in a sense and he had to go to work soon so he told his wife "Pet, I've got to go to work, are you going to be okay alone here? I could take a day off if you needed." Grunnings wouldn't be destroyed if he wasn't there for a day after all. Petunia shakes her head and said "Vernon you can't! what would the neighbors and your colleagues think." Vernon was flabbergasted "Petunia! The neighbors and my colleagues don't have any say in this, I can tell them it's a family emergency and I'd be right!" Petunia was holding tears back by now "Vernon I just don't know what to do! This is all too much" Petunia started talking franticly "LilyisdeadandnowtheresdoreaIhavetocareforherandorganizeafuneral and and—"

Vernon saw it was getting out of control so he tried to calm his wife down "Pet, Pet, calm down we'll get through this, I know what we can do! We should ask your parents, they have experience with this after all" but first he had to call to his work to notify them of his absence and the reason why, no reason to get in trouble with his work after all.

Petunia was nodding a bit franticly in the way people did like they had just found Jesus. So she decided to call her parents for help after Vernon got off the phone, Oh he just finished, time to call her parents then.

Petunia rang a familiar number, she kept in touch with her parents after all. Her mother picked up the ringing phone and asked who it is. Petunia said "Mum it's Petunia." Her mother replied "Petunia dear how nice to hear from you! I didn't expect to hear from you this early in the morning though, did something happen?" Petunia said "Mum, I've run into some problems, can you and Dad come over, please?"

Carolyn Evans was getting a bit worried did Petunia have a run in with a gang? Wizards? A wild animal? She didn't know but she didn't have anything planned for today as far as she could remember, her husband John had already gone off to his doctor's appointment, he had an unlucky encounter with a robber who had gotten a bit stab happy, this robber was however no match for the lumberjack physique of her husband, he was still as dreamy and loving as when she first married him.

Carolyn replied "I don't have anything planned so I can come over if you want, I can be there within the hour" Petunia was relieved to hear these reassuring words. "If you could, Please."  
Carolyn laughed a little "It's no problem! I'll be there in an hour!" they exchanged some pleasantries and hung up the phone.

* * *

Dorea was exploring the surrounding area, which was the play corner, she felt around on everything and everywhere she could touch and get to, slowly waddling to where she couldn't reach. She stumbled a couple of times when there were random blocks thrown about and she didn't feel them coming. That was annoying she felt.

The bottle she had been fed was missing a bit of taste she had gotten accustomed to, she figured it to be a different formula, at least she would have thought if she knew what her bottles were made from.

Her cousin Dudley was babbling to her all the time, she didn't find it too terrible if she were honest, he was happily babbling about how much he loved his blocks, or at least that's what she got from it.  
He was actually unknowingly trying to summon some demons but they all sensed it to be a trap, not with that family and Fire nearby. And this is why you teach your children not to say certain words.

Dorea decided she had done enough exploring and went to play with Dudley and his blocks instead.

* * *

Dorea had decided. Blocks were the best. You could do anything with them, build anything. The Fire Keeper in her judged this to be a normal progress for infancy. Dudley was happy he convinced her that yes, his blocks were the best. If only she didn't hog most of them. They were his blocks!

* * *

A/N: what is this update time, I should not be updating at this time.


	4. Chapter 4

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, do I really have to put this every time?

Thank you people for your support. It brings fire to my dark Soul.

* * *

Sirius Black was wallowing in guilt. It was his fault! If he didn't change James and Lily's mind they'd still be alive! Little Dorea would still have her parents! They were _deadeadead_ because of him!  
He deserved to be in Azkaban. The wizarding wizard obviously agreed with him, they just threw him in there. A Black he may be but everyone close to him would know he'd never kill the muggles, the cause for his arrest, He was going to become Padfoot again now, his Animagus form helped stave off the Dementors, he was already doing their work for them, he didn't need one of them to do double the work.

So here he was. In a cell in Azkaban, his 'dear' cousin Bellatrix was here as well , her and her fellow death eaters. The screaming started nearby, which notified him of Dementors coming.

* * *

Petunia was preparing the tea her Mum liked, personally she didn't think it was that great but her Mum liked it. She was glad Dudley and Dorea were getting along for now at least. There was a knock on the door. Walking to the door she expected her Mum to be there.

Instead there were a pair of Jehovah's witnesses at the door, trying to unsubtly convert her to their faith and trying to give her The Watchtower, Petunia was having none of it and sent them away.  
As she was getting the kettle of the stove there was a knock at the door, luckily this time it was her Mum. As Petunia led her Mum inside, it wasn't immediately clear what was different inside the house, maybe a new paintjob? She was also pretty sure Petunia didn't have two babies.

"Petunia dearie, correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you only had one baby, not two." Carolyn said confusedly. Petunia nodded in reply "Yes, I only had Dudley, as you may know his birth was too straining on the body and that if I try again there was a high chance of it being a miscarriage.  
That is Lily's daughter Dorea, she's staying with us for… a time." Petunia was holding tears back by now. Being her mother Carolyn noticed this immediately "Tuney, what's wrong? What happened?"

Petunia was almost crying while she said "Oh Mum it's just horrible! Lily's dead! I just don't know what to do! It's terrible!" Carolyn was shocked, Lily was dead!? "What! When did this happen!"  
Petunia replied "It happened yesterday apparently, she and her husband were murdered in their own home!" Carolyn had experience with this, her own parents had died in WW2 fighting the Nazi's. She was glad her daughters didn't experience this but she was even more saddened that she had to bury her own daughter.

Petunia had gotten in a letter in the mail that morning about what burial services Lily and James had prepared for in case they died, which is what happened. Apparently they had wanted to be cremated and put in the same Burial Urn when they died. This was a huge relief for Petunia whom was afraid she had to prepare a burial by herself.

Petunia wiped some of her tears away "Mum I need your help with taking care of Dorea, I don't mind that she is magical but I have no experience raising one, I also think she might be blind, what am I supposed to do?" Petunia was still distraught.

Carolyn was happy to get herself away from the depressing thoughts of her daughter being dead and instead go to helping Petunia with taking care of her granddaughter, she said "Well Petunia-dearie, introduce us to each other"

* * *

Dorea felt someone with a slightly familiar Soul enter the house. She just finished building what she thought was a tower of blocks, it was a bit hard to do without sight and only touch. She thought she did a good job and went to show Dudley what she had accomplished "Duweee!" she cried out the closed she could come to his actual name, which as she had guessed made him come over at a slow crawl. "Wook!" she gestured to her block tower.

Dudley looked at the block tower Dorea had made, it was three blocks tall and standing much like the burrow, really shoddily. His was much better in his opinion, or what could be considered his opinion, so he did what he thought was best. He threw over the tower and said "'Ines bess'r!" he threw a temper tantrum if you could call it that.

Dorea could hear him screaming and a thump of some blocks falling, she felt around where her tower should have been standing. It wasn't. She screeched "Dudwee!" and felt something inside her move a little, she felt that sensation a lot when she was with her parents. She couldn't see what it was doing but her blocks that were pushed over was catching fire and floating a little. Dudley however could see it and it scared him. So he did what he did best right now, Cry out.  
The fact that the fire was making the smoke detector go off didn't help in the slightest.  
Dorea did the thing she was pretty good at, She made the fire go away, it was her own fire after all.

Her aunt was already coming over she felt with the other Soul following in tandem. Whoops.

* * *

Petunia and Carolyn were already making their way over when they heard the smoke detector go off.  
When they reached the baby fence all they saw was a crying Dudley, a thrown over collection of blocks that were slightly charred and smoking a little, a couple of them were still in the midst of floating. Dorea was oddly calm considering what was going it

Petunia was bewildered "What happened, Dorea-dear?" the reply she got was what she should have been expecting, really, "Anwyy!" Petunia didn't know what to make of this, did Dorea set fire to the blocks because she was angry? Well no matter, she had to calm Dudley down. While she was picking up Dudley she told her niece "Dorea-dearie, this is your grandma Carolyn" Dudley was already calming down which was an all around improvement for everyone.

Carolyn crouched down to Dorea introduced herself "Dorry, I'm your granny Carolyn. Come give me a hug!" Dorea loved getting hugged, she never had anyone hug her as when she was a Fire Keeper people never considered she might have wanted a hug, probably was the best thing as they might have gotten burned. Fire Keepers could be considered a personification of their bonfire after all. But she was More. Especially now with a real body.

Dorea held up her arms in the general gesture "Gwannyyy!" she was immediately picked up and smooshed against her grandma, she felt some fingers slightly pinching her cheeks as well.

Carolyn thought her adorable granddaughter was pleasantly warm and was happy to hold her, she didn't come over a lot and was always happy to just hold her grandchildren. When she held Dorea like this she got the feeling everything was going to work out fine.

* * *

His other half was making horrible decisions, decisions that would ruin the both of them. They were currently in southern France, looking for a job to try and support themselves, coincidently the furthest he could get away from Britain that he could afford. His Pack was in pieces, They were gone. But not all of them. The Red one, the Stag and the Rat were dead, his faithful companion the Dog locked away for his treachery against the Pack. But one remains, the little one who always was smelling and feeling of Fire, Unlike the Red one and the Stag but not too different. He had to her, see her, know she was safe, She was the last of his Pack after all.

But no, his Host unwilling to even get close, unable to see and hear what his heart wants. Too drowned in anguish. Until he saw her again and knew he was safe he was not going to let his host have a good day in his life. No he will know the error of his ways!  
His host was always trying to escape and suppress him, he let him do it because clearly his host was a smart one. Well clearly he was wrong. He needed her, They both needed Her!

He needed to learn his Host a lesson, He dares ruin both their lives with his decisions!? He'll show him what happens!

This cursed Night was ending soon, he better start his lesson right away.

* * *

If Remus Lupin woke up with more bruises and scratches to himself than he usually did after a full moon he didn't make it noticeable, he did however feel like he's making a big fat mistake, he just didn't know what he was doing wrong!

Well no matter, he needed this job, he made himself as presentable as he could in the hopes that it would help him get the job.

* * *

Spreading his wings Fawkes continued in his flight over Britain, He had felt a Fire appear and then disappear shortly after, He left his pet human, an amusing wizard, behind to go investigate, it wasn't like anything could seriously harm one such as He. The Fire he felt had felt like a newborn Phoenix and he knew his population was minimal, He had only met 4 other phoenixes in his lifetime. He had the chance and he took it, the problem was he could no longer detect the Fire. This should not be possible! His attunement to Fire was the greatest even of the other phoenixes! So why could he not find it!

And search for the Fire he went, He could feel minute traces of it all over, from a burnt down house in Godric's Hollow to in the skies, where the trail suddenly stopped. He could not find it. Maybe he should ask his Wizard for help, but it's not like he could understand the majestic song of Fire.  
Maybe the Hat could translate? It wouldn't be the first time after all.

He flamed himself all across Britain until he gave up, he went from Scotland to Whales, to England, to Ireland shortly, North-West of the Netherlands, North France, Western Belgium  
The trail put him over South of London but he could not find anything! This was frustrating him to no end.

He just hoped the Chick was alright, He didn't want to know what could quieten the Song of Fire but more importantly would want to.

It was time for him to go back to his Wizard, he had felt him go back to his office/living room through their bond.

* * *

Dumbledore entered his office and wondered where Fawkes had gone off to, it wasn't uncommon for him to go adventuring on his own after all. Oh there he was. Fawkes had flamed in and was…was he sulking? The last time he had seen Fawkes do that is when he went through his cycle mid flight while on a date.


	5. Chapter 5

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own jack shit, also known as nothing.

* * *

He was the Ashen One and he might have made a mistake.  
Killing the Fire Keeper like he usually did at the end of their interactions after taking the Fire definitely ranks in his top 10 mistakes. Bonfires didn't work, his soap stones didn't work and his storage was gone! He spent hours farming for the contents! Everything was a whole lot darker too, as if someone had turned the light off.

Lately some people have begun invading him out of nowhere, which made no sense! He defeated all the 'bosses' but he still kept getting invaded, The Bell at Firelink Shrine kept ringing nonstop as well. He did what he had to do right? Then why was it ringing.

It wasn't just the usual Reds and Purples either, No he was getting invaded by Blues! They kept screaming at him words like "You'll pay for what you done!" "Hands off the waifu!" "Betrayer!"  
They didn't kill him yet but they had gotten very close a couple of times. Lately they have been grouping up in groups of three to five. He'd gotten lucky to get away last time.

He was checking every bonfire to see if any were still useable, surely there must be at least one remaining! The cathedral of the Deep was coming up inside the bonfire was out and wouldn't go on, another bust then. There was something new here though, it was a man clothed in red. He was muttering to a covered up statue behind the altar "Ahh, merciful goddess, mother of the Forlorn, who have no place to call their own... Please, bear witness to our resolve...Fire for Ariandel... Fire for Ariandel... And the ash to kindle flame..."

The red clothed man looked at him "Wait, you've...You've the same scent as that woman... Then you must be an Ashen One. You must be!" He gained a frenzied tone "You don't know how long I've searched!" he calmed himself a little " Ohh, ohh...don't mind me, didn't mean to fall apart. Now, Ashen One, I have a kindness to ask of you. My lady lives in the cold land of Ariandel. I need you to show her flame. A proper flame, that will burn the rot away. If you truly are Ash, then it must be fire that you seek?" The Ashen One was confused, the bonfires didn't work, how could he possibly get to this Ariandel place, he certainly hasn't seen it in his travels "How would I get there?" he asked.

The man clothed in red was elated "Truly? You'll do it? I have the means to get there with me, with this" out of his pocket came a scrap of cloth dyed red "They of Ash never fail, this is a piece of the Painting of Ariandel, It will bring you there. Go on, take it, Touch it" Curiosity overcame the Ashen One, a mere piece of a painting able to take him away? He touched it. An overwhelming force came out of nowhere, No it came out of the piece of the painting, pulling him into it.

Gael said "And then the Ashes were two." With that out of the way he could continue on to his next objective, he must find pigment for his Lady's painting, The Dark Soul of man. He will find it even if it kill him.

The Ashen One woke up in a cave. The cave smelt and looked like it was rotten, there was also a creepy…man? Definitely not his best decision to make, at least the bonfire outside worked… for now at least, he could see it was slowly going out. He better hurry then.

* * *

Dorea was learning all the time. She learnt that her and Dudley's blocks were brown in color, whatever that is, she learnt that the box with all the noise coming out of it was called a 'telly' her uncle Vernon really liked the 'telly' and was watching it a lot when he came from his work. Speaking of her uncles, where did Padfoot, Moony and Peter go? Did they forget about her? Did they get lost? She hoped they didn't get lost, she got lost once and had to yell for her Aunt to help, she had accidently locked herself into the hallway and wasn't tall enough to reach the doorknob. Dorea wished she was going to be taller in the future, or is it past? This time stuff got confusing fast! From what she heard her Mum, Aunt and even Granny were short so there was apparently a chance for her to be short as well!

Whoops she just hit the remote, I think it was the remote, oh it was. The channel switched to apparently some religious show, at least she thought it was a religious show.  
There was a god called Jesus and he was the light? The show was unclear about it but he had some strong faith to use those Miracles, she knew how to use the cure disease and healing as well, she was a way of white priest after all. But then he got to some truly miraculous feats, he had a miracle for walking on water! And something as novel as water to wine and duplication of food she didn't know that was possible using Miracles! She'll have to try that one when she was older.

Her tummy was rumbling, she kept forgetting she needed food now. Her aunt Petunia was always helping her with eating, they both didn't want to make a giant mess like Dudley always does. Dorea thought she was getting better, it wasn't her fault the cup fell over! Honest!

She had to go to a 'doktorr' a couple days ago with her aunt, she had a scar on her head apparently, Dorea didn't remember getting a scar but they had gotten her checked over, they did some tests on her eyes as well, and got what she had expected, blind in this life as well, oh well she was used to that at least. They had gotten some medicinal cream to put on her scar so it won't stay the angry red it is now, not that she could see that. Petunia however was happy that there wasn't really anything wrong with her niece.

Petunia was very busy recently, now with another kid living with her, a blind one at that. Luckily she had managed to find a support group for it in the area, just outside London, the next meeting is in a week in a half, not too far away. Finding the group was a great relief.

Vernon was working extra hard recently so she decided that she will cook some steaks for him tonight, his favorite. But for now she needs to clean up the mess Dudley made, his food was splattered all over the table.

Something she noticed while adjusting the flames of the stove was that the flames kept getting bigger than she intended. Was there something wrong with the gas pipes? Petunia would get Vernon or a repairman to check it out soon, they didn't go out easily.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew was running.  
Running from predators in every form, out to get him, he was a rat after all. Other rats, birds, snakes, pest control, aurors, his past, his mistakes, they were all trying to get him.  
He still had his Master's wand with him, he'd need to find a safe space where he could hide it and nobody except him could find it. Underground was a good start he'd thought. He can't get over the feeling. It took him quite a while to escape. Escape Sirius and get him imprisoned. Escape the guilt his involvement in the murder of his friends caused him. Escape the feeling of making a giant mistake.

Maybe he should find a wizard family to act as a pet rat for. Kids liked rats right? Oh who was he kidding who in their right mind would let their kids have a rat for a pet? Someone stupid I reckon.

* * *

Arthur Weasley was comforting his wife Molly, she suddenly started having a mood swing over the Daily Prophet, a clickbait filled wizarding newspaper, the only good newspaper apparently, which is sad.

"It's horrible Arthur! Little Dorea Potter all alone! And she might be missing! Look!" she shoved the newspaper which had this at the front page " _ **Girl-Who-Lived Missing?"**_ and further news like "Find out how I lost 20 pounds in a week!" and "Charming Ladies with a smile, 10 tips how" truly interesting news. He looked at his belly and patted it a little, maybe he should check out that article later.

He was sure she was fine though, Dumbledore took care of it and everybody knows Dumbledore is the best wizard around! "Molly I'm sure Dumbledore knows where she is, Don't worry about it!"  
and if Dumbledore couldn't find her then he didn't know who could.  
Maybe he should get one of his sons a pet? Maybe a rat, Kids still liked rats right?

* * *

Dumbledore was annoyed.  
After his partying binge was over the world needed him once more. From questions about his school, accusations of things he'd did like burning one fellow's house down and stealing his goats. He didn't know about any of that, Honest! And even more recently the new Minister of Magic kept asking for his help on every little thing. How did he even become Minister in the first place with this amount of incompetence, he must be in the pocket of many wizards, they in his position usually are.

The students certainly felt better with the threat of Voldemort no longer hanging above their heads. He hoped but could do no further that they used protection. He didn't want to know.  
Fawkes was still sulking on his nest, he wouldn't communicate with him what's wrong. Maybe he had trouble with a ladyfriend he had met but didn't work out? If he wasn't sharing it with him it wasn't his business.

There were owls incoming with what seemed to be more questions about his opinion and help on stuff he really had no business nor want dealing with! He already had enough stuff to do.  
But for now he could sit back and enjoy his lemon drops.


	6. Chapter 6

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Maybe I own my socks

Hey dear readers, unreliable author here with another chapter, I was honestly surprised people read this at all.

Thanks for your support. this chapter makes half a dozen, another half more and I can fill an egg package with this. It won't stop me from trying.

* * *

School was starting soon for Dorea and Dudley, Dudley would be going towards the local elementary school here in Surrey while Dorea will be going towards a specialist school a bit further away, she would have to take the school bus, Aunt Petunia had promised she would walk her there everyday to make sure she didn't take the wrong turn.

The school in question caters to people with visual impairments like her, the mute, people in the autistic spectrum. She happy to learn this countries version of braille, She already knew Carim's and Lothric's Braille, it was required of her from before she was a Fire Keeper. She wasn't sure if this land even had braille divine tomes but she hadn't heard of any so far. It wasn't like her family went to church though so it wasn't that big of a surprise.

She hadn't really gone to a school before and she was getting nervous now, what if the other kids didn't like her? What if she doesn't fit in? So she went to her Aunt with her hands fluttering. "Aunt Petunia what if the other kids don't like me? What do I do?" her Aunt already knew this would be coming, her Dudley was confident everyone would like him, maybe they spoiled him a little, but she was sure Dorea would be asking this question and thusly was prepared for it. "That's nonsense Dorea-dear, I'm sure they'll like you! Who wouldn't anyways, and if they don't they're sure to miss out on you and that's just their mistake." It might not have been the most careful words but it clearly helped her niece calm down.

Dorea knew it was going to be fine but she wanted her Aunt's reassurance, She wouldn't make any 'enemies' if you could say that a bunch of first years can actually be enemies, that she was generally a nice girl played a part in it and the other part being that Humanity's Dark would always be subconsciously drawn towards her Fire….sometimes this draws in the bad side as well, she absently remembers one of the previous Fire Keepers being assassinated for just a small taste of that Fire, short lived it may be.

School time was approaching and it was time to go to school.

* * *

Dorea's first week at school went alright surprisingly, the children were generally nice, after all what is the point of bullying a blind kid when you are blind yourself, She doesn't see the point and neither do they.

She was getting some itching feeling from when some of her classmates guidance dogs were letting her pet them, maybe she should get her aunt to take a look at it, it wasn't that itchy but it gets…annoying, she thinks, that when she or one of the dogs touch each other that it led to her itching.

After school ended she went to her aunt with her arm still itching from where a dog touched it earlier "Aunt Petunia, my arm keeps itching!" Dorea showed her arm to her aunt who said "Dorea-dear, what did you do? Your arm is covered in spots! How long has this been going on for?" Dorea thought of this and said "I think it started this week?" Petunia didn't really know what it was so she decided they should go to a doctor soon to check it out  
"Well Dorea-dear I don't know what it is but it looks red, I am going to call the doctor for an appointment." And so she did and got an appointment scheduled for in a couple of days.

* * *

And so to the doctor they had gone, Dorea and her aunt Petunia. The doctor had done some tests and had eventually come to the conclusion that Dorea had a minor allergic reaction to continuous contact with dogs, if she did she would get skin rashes where she had remained in contact, Dorea didn't really know what to think of it, the Dursleys certainly weren't planning to get a dog anytime soon and the contact she had with dogs were minimal anyways. Luckily, she thought, none of her family had dogs. Her aunt Marge did do some dog breeding but she didn't really know her that well.

This however shot down her chances of possibly getting a guide dog like her classmates had. Her parents were magical right? Maybe they had something like a guide dog for her instead.

With the school notified of her allergy, just in case, it was time for dinner soon and then to bed, onwards to the next day! The sun always felt so nice, the old one never felt like that, it had none of the warmth this one always had, it reminded her a little of some of the hollows she had heard about.  
The Gwyn of this world must still be in power, to be able to make it emit so much warmth constantly, according to that 'Teevee' channel, the one who made it was 'God' they didn't really specify which one though.

The humans here are certainly unclear about what was real and what wasn't. Dorea was already happy there were this many humans here, the feeling of their Humanity made the Fire feel content, pleasant and tingly all over. Maybe there was something to that story of Man and Fire coming from the Dark after all. She could barely remember the only other humanity she had felt when she was the Fire Keeper, don't even start on being this close to humans, she was one of them now….she thought at least.

Dinner was near, what her nose was telling her was that they were having steak again, her aunt and uncle must be in a good mood again.

* * *

It was snowing. Why was it always snowing in this god-forsaken place!? Giant archers, legions of hollows and wolves. Giant Wolves at that. Thankfully he barely had enough time to rest at the bonfire before it went out as well. Estus had never tasted better.

It was time to hurry on, lest his pursuers caught up with him. The wolves are relentless in their packs. He can see them from the corner of his eyes, eyeing him like the dead meat they thought him to be, easy prey. The snow was not helping him at all with the running, for the last couple of minutes he had felt cold, so unlike the usual warmth of the embers inside him. This must be frostbite. He heard it from a couple of phantoms he had once summoned.

As he was resting for a little against a tree he came to another joyful discovery. The trees were alive and were shooting fireballs at him. Joy. Time to add trees to the list of things that want to kill him, right above deep water.

The good news is he found where all the archers are coming from. The bad news is that he found where all the archers are shooting from.

* * *

It was snowing. Which could only mean one thing to Dudley and her. It must be Christmas time soon! Christmas was weird, something about celebrating Jesus's birthday or was it something about a man with a giant beard and a sled led by flying reindeer who can fly around the world in one night delivering presents for all the children in the world. Or maybe it was a conspiracy about getting people to spend their hard earned money on this brainwashed consumer holiday, best not think about it, Dorea thought to herself.

Her aunt later told them that no, it wasn't Christmas soon, that it was just some strange weather stuff resulting in a day of snow, wet snow at that, now there was a slushy mess everywhere on the streets. They were having Vernon shovel it off the driveway and the path to the door later.

She was slowly learning how to read braille here, it was a lot more than Carim's braille script that's for sure, a lot of strange sentences and a ton of new words to understand. There also were a lot more books compared to where she had been in the past. Something about a machine able to copy and print a lot of books really fast. That or magicians had some magic to copy everything rapidly. And yet even with all this speed she had to wait for a book to be translated to braille before she could read it, it could get frustrating at times.

It was nearing dinner time and she had almost finished the book she was currently trying to read, she kept misinterpreting some sentences which messed up some stories, nothing major but when a character grabbed a dragonfruit instead of his dagger you'd think there was something wrong. This did not however make the story any less fun to read.

She'll have to get another book soon.


	7. Chapter 7

To have Kept the Fire

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Honest.

Thanks for all the follows and reviews, you people make me feel a fuzzy feeling every time I get a notification of one, Much appreciated.

* * *

This hunt has been going on for weeks now, it was supposed to be a simple task according to his mentor, A simple beast extermination mission, how were they supposed to know the prey was moving so quickly across the land after all. His mentor and he were dressed in their usual gear for tasks such as these, dragonhide clothing, belts and pouches filled with bottles and remedies available in nary the blink of an eye and his longsword, bow and wand holstered neatly across his body.

His mentor, a grizzled old man of the hunt, had taken him across the lands, teaching him all there is to know about the hunt for over a year now, a variety of skills for example tracking beasts and covering his tracks.

They were currently camping on the side of a mountain in northern Italy, the tents were already set up and his mentor was currently laying traps around the camp site, wouldn't want to get ambushed by a wild animal after all, it would be terribly embarrassing for it to happen to a pair of hunters.  
He himself was working up a great amount of sweat doing strengthening exercises his mentor had taught him. Speaking of his mentor there he was right now.

His mentor spoke to him in his usual gruff voice "The beast is nearby, Apprentice, finish up your exercise and get ready and be quick about it!" he nodded in confirmation "Yes, Mentor!" he finished up his exercise and got to checking his equipment, his wand was in his usual holster bound to his arm, his bow needed a new drawstring soon and his sword had a nice dull shine to it, who would take a shining sword to battle after all, it would alert the creatures. After he was done his mentor checked him over, carefully looking for mistakes, of course he couldn't find any as it has been almost literally been beaten into him.

"Let's go then, remember your lessons in stealth, wouldn't want another Tebo accident after all" his mentor said in a teasing tone. "Mentor! It was only one time! It was an accident!" in that case they were tracking a Tebo who had escaped from the magical zoo in Congo, a Tebo was a big warthog with very strong hide and the ability to turn invisible, they were about to recapture it but he had accidently stepped on a branch and the Tebo got startled and ran away invisibly, it took them another 3 days after that of almost non-stop pursuit to catch him and bring him back to the zoo, his mentor would never stop mentioning it every time they went on another hunt.

They were slowly trekking up the mountainside, there were still plenty of trees here but they were steadily getting thinner and shorter, now without the trees getting in the way he could see their target, a huge Graphorn. "Merlin's beard!" he gasped out, How were they supposed to capture this!? The beast was huge and according to his mentor, tougher than a dragon and able to repel most spells! "Mentor, what are we supposed to do now, how can we even handle this beast?" he whispered quietly to his mentor.

"Quiet Apprentice. The job just changed, a Graphorn is an endangered species, we need to capture it carefully, you know the drill by now." He did. His mentor's usual go to for cases such as these was a modified incarcerous spell that conjured up near unbreakable chains instead, his task was to put the beast to sleep after it was contained, he was always a little bit better with mind spells after all.

The plan was put in motion, his mentor had cast his spell and the Graphorn awoke panicking, trying to get up and only getting his legs bound even further in the process and he got to work quickly, since the Graphorn was magic resistant he couldn't use the usual spells for this and had to use a sleeping draught instead, a challenge to be sure with all the thrashing it was doing.

His mentor had done the second containment spell as planned, transfiguring nearby piles of leaves into weights attached to the chains, making the Graphorn unable to do much of anything except make loud noises, which it did, a lot. He quickly poured down the draught into the Graphorns tentacle mouth and stood back as they waited for it to take effect. It might not be the draught of the living dead but it did its job and that's what matters here, a nice side effect is that it also shut the Graphorn up, thank Merlin.

His mentor spoke up "Apprentice, get the bird and the ink and quill, we will need to notify the ministry here and get the rewards, Graphorns caught alive are worth a lot of galleons after all, maybe you could get your line of hair care products started!" he mockingly laughed at the end. "Alright, Mentor, I still say you're just jealous of my beautiful hair and is just in denial of it" he hmphed. Another hunt successful, another one for the adventures of him, Gilderoy Lockhart, currently apprentice Monster Hunter! Maybe he should write a book about this between jobs, food for thought, but he had to get the messenger falcon they employed now lest his mentor get annoyed with him for dawdling around.

* * *

It was summer time, which generally meant dry air, heat waves and beach episodes, one of these things were not like the others, but for school kids like our victims -I mean heroes, it was summer vacation which for the Dursleys meant one thing, Vacation trips! Previously the family had gone camping in the countryside for a couple of days in which they learnt an important fact, only you can prevent forest fires! Statistics have shown that most forest fires are caused by humans but not all, which can only mean one thing, that there is a bear out there who knows how to start a fire. Also being a firekeeper apparently gave you the ability to just turn off forest fires, sadly Dorea only learned of this fact at the end of one. Many trees have died for the cause, you can pray for them in tree heaven. Bless.

For the last couple of months Vernon has been coming home a bit later, he had said he had gotten a side job to save up for trips such as these, apparently he had impressed his boss in Italy whom had gotten him a discount for a trip to Italy, which got them into his price range of what he was willing to spend, his boss, known locally there as a 'Don Jim' apparently really likes the importance he put to his family, who knew keeping quiet and occasionally running some errands and burying some bodies would be so profitable. The boys at the job had started to call him Mole, or at least he thought it meant mole, their Italian accent made it hard to know what they were saying to him most of the time.

This meant they were going to Italy! Dorea didn't really know what Italy was but she was always excited to go on trips with the family, grandma couldn't join this time sadly, this however meant that auntie Petunia had gone on a packing spree, from what she could hear her auntie had already unpacked and repacked her travel bag around four times now, she idly remembered the record was at repacking twelve times, apparently they were going to travel to the skyport? To board a special boat? Describing new objects was always a challenge with a high chance of mistranslation. Dorea usually fell asleep pretty fast on moving vehicles in uncomfortable positions that gave her neck cramps most of the times, a good and bad side.

In the meantime Dorea was watching tv, which really meant listen to it and look in its general direction even though she was unable to see anything of it, machines don't have souls after all. She still didn't really know how to use the remote so it currently was stuck on a news channel with a weather report currently ongoing, something about a 'freak-storm' moving slowly across eastern Europe. She felt her cousin Dudley move to the television as well, he immediately started going through channels rapidly, ending on some action cartoon which sounded like some horrible dubbed over mess, maybe it looked better than it sounded, at least this Skeletor? Skeleton? Sounded funny if a bit menacing to her ears, Truly these are the wonders of morning television around the world.

Ah, it sounds like auntie Petunia was done packing for now at least, "Dorea, be a dear and come here please? I need to do your hair" recently Petunia had slowly started showing instructing her on how to do some hairdo's with her slowly turning more ash colored shade of ashen blonde hair, she usually just put a sloppy braid like she had done before but that apparently simply won't do to her aunt's tastes, today was just a simple brushing and a ponytail, she always liked having her hair brushed, it made it feel so smooth, she really could have used one Before.  
Vernon had called a cab to take them to the skyport which should be arriving in about half an hour, Petunia made them go over the usual rules for trips, stay together, emergency numbers attached to your clothes, meet at a promised beforehand location, Dorea was not to be left alone and no starting forest fires. Simple rules really, wouldn't want any accidents happening after all.

The family had a quick meal in the meantime while they were all packed up and ready to go, just waiting for the cab, it was apparently around an hour ride from their house to the skyport according to her uncle at least. When they got to the skyport—apparently it was called an airport, she felt a great mass of people nearby, humans by the feel of their Souls, the Fire has never before been so excited and happy, almost singing inside her, to see so many Humans alive and grouped together, something near unheard of Before, barely any humans were left after all, the hollows had to come from somewhere. Near the Fire she also felt something else, as if something was slowly being awakened by the Fire being bursting with joy, Dorea couldn't grasp it with all the current events going on.

Dorea held on close to her Auntie Petunia, it would be embarrassing to get lost in the airport after all, as most other airport visitors, they had to wait in line for some time, Italy was always very popular in the summer time after all, by the time they had gotten onto the airship, apparently not a boat but a metal bird of some kind that could fly really fast between places, the humans were truly amazing, to be able to fly amongst the birds in the sky.

On the plane itself they were given brief instructions as to what to do in case of disasters by the flight attendants, after putting in her earplugs, her auntie Petunia had warned them beforehand as to what could happen when you don't do something about the pressure difference and also to reduce the noise of the surrounding area, after the plane was in the sky Dorea did what she did best in situations like these.

She fell asleep.


End file.
